I Spread My Limbs & Groped For Firm Ground

I wrote, published and printed a short-fiction book titled ‘I Spread My Limbs and Groped For Firm Ground’. It follows ‘The Technician’ on a quest to save the UCL's Geology Collection that balances between real and imagined tensions within the institution.

The text uses colloquial language to explain geologic processes and makes them visceral. The narrative indulges in material engagements, intra-actions and geo-mythologies. The in/tangibility of sci/fiction is stretched with the aim of challenging or prodding at; the institution's porous boundaries, systems of knowledge production and the modality of the exhibition within the institution. The text was an experiment in softening boundaries of the scientific discipline and exploring creative ways of disseminating its stories.

This text became central to my work in my MA (Art Education Culture and Practice ) exhibition at UCL in May 2025. The text was translated into a short film and an installation. The installation is a ‘set’ for the fiction to take place. Situated within an actual technician’s office within the exhibition space, bringing into question the reality of The Technician, as a charachter. The installation provided a plausible space for the fiction to unfold - in a kind of meta version of the university.

Visitors were invited to enter into the space to explore an internal geography where a constellation of fragments required them to become active participants. The installation and film left gaps for viewers to fill, enabling them to decipher and participate in their own meaning making.